Samsung Explains Note7 Failure, Promises to Do Better

Samsung Electronics on Monday announced that it has developed new quality assurance protocols to ensure that it won't have a repeat of the catastrophic issues that plagued its Galaxy Note7 handsets. The company last fall issued a universal recall after several of the devices caught fire or exploded.

In one incident, a Southwest Airlines flight had to be evacuated in Louisville, Kentucky, after a Samsung Galaxy Note7 caught fire and produced thick smoke on an aircraft. Samsung initially blamed the problem on an "isolated" faulty battery cell issue, before opting to issue a general recall of the device.
Samsung has reaffirmed that the design and production of the batteries caused the problems -- not the hardware or software -- but the company has acknowledged that it should have done more to ensure that the batteries could not overheat and cause fires. It has enlisted a group of external advisors to provide clear and objective perspectives on battery safety and innovation.

All the Right Moves

Samsung unveiled its new "8-Point Battery Safety Check," which is meant to address any potential problems. It encompasses a durability test, visual inspection, X-ray test, disassembling test and OCT test, as well as a charge and discharge test, TVOC test and accelerated usage test.

In addition, Samsung will conduct a multilayer safety measures protocol on all its devices. It will cover the overall design and materials, as well as device hardware strength. Further, it will ensure that software algorithms are in place for safer battery charging temperatures.
"Samsung is doing the right thing. It took its time, but eventually it got enough instances of failed batteries in the lab to figure out what the technical issue was," said Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates.
"At the same time, Samsung has been relatively forthcoming about the results and taking responsibility," he told TechNewsWorld.
"The first thing Samsung had to do was make it clear that it understood the core of the Note7 fire, and it had to ensure that it won't happen again," noted Ian Fogg, senior director for mobile and telecoms at IHS Markit.
"It had to make creditable assurances to customers, vendors and retailers that this wouldn't happen with future models," he told TechNewsWorld. "The announcement today addressed both of those issues."

Passing the Buck?

Although Samsung addressed what it will do to help avoid future problems, the company did not take full blame for the issue.
"There is plenty of blame to go around here," said Ramon Llamas, IDC's research manager for wearables and mobile phones.
"When [Samsung] asks a supplier to ramp up production on batteries to meet demand, there is blame as well," he told TechNewsWorld.
"The next test will be when they unveil a new flagship phone; they will have to showcase how innovative it is in terms of features, but also address the power in the way it charges and its reliability," said IHS Markit's Fogg.
"That will be part of the next announcement for any of its products, as the lithium ion batteries are used in so many products --from laptops to phones and even to cars," he added.

Galaxy Delays

What is also likely to come out of Samsung's new emphasis on battery safety is a delay of its next flagship handset, likely the Galaxy S8. It had been expected to make its debut at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, next month, but that now appears unlikely.
"If they don't make MWC, that breaks from tradition -- but we can expect that the phone is still coming," said Llamas.
In fact, such a delay could be met positively, as "taken in this context, [it shows] that the company is making sure it does things right next time," said Endpoint's Kay.
"The public is both sophisticated about understanding that technical failures occur and ADD enough to forget the past pretty quickly -- so if Samsung gets the next one right, all will be forgiven," he said.
"It is a right step, but that's all it is," said Llamas. "Samsung will need to make multiple steps to regain consumer confidence. They've identified the problem, but now they need to ensure that this doesn't happen again."

Asus Tinker Board Joins Raspberry Pi on the Bargain Table

Just when you thought Raspberry Pi couldn't be knocked from its market-leading perch, along comes Asus with a rival device that may give the Pi a run for its relatively little money.

Asus just launched its own low-cost computer, the Tinker Board, which is being sold in the UK and continental Europe for about US$57. Its features could interest open source enthusiasts in doing a little comparison shopping before deciding on a new device.
The Tinker Board features a quad-core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex A-17 CPU with ARM Mali-T764 graphics.
The device includes four USB 2.0 ports, a 3.5 mm audio jack connection, CSI port for camera connection, a DSI port for HD resolution, a micro SD port and contact ports for PWM and S/PDIF signals.
The Tinker Board supports the Debian OS with Kodi.
A power supply is not included.

Rival or Response

"The Asus Tinker Board is not so much competition as extension of the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, and deeper it shows an extensible ARM ecosystem as well," said Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
The Tinker Board runs a faster processor and like the Pi 3 model, implements WiFi and bluetooth wireless connectivity, he noted.
"I don't believe anyone in the Raspberry Pi ecosystem is writing or using 64-bit software, so the Pi model 3 upgrade to ARMv8 is a bit mystifying, other than the BCM2837 processor was cheap, fast and available now," Teich told LinuxInsider.
"The Asus part is substantially more powerful and uses about 25 percent more power," observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
The Asus system outputs 4K video, while Raspberry Pi uses HD, he noted.
"This means the Asus part will perform far better when the performance requirement is higher and the need to keep energy cost down is lower," Enderle told LinuxInsider.
The embedded space has proven to be relatively lucrative and can be a jumping-off point for even bigger markets and technology partnerships, so it's likely other manufacturers will enter this space as well, he suggested.

Power Play

The release comes about a week after the release of the Compute Model 3 from Raspberry Pi. That model is aimed squarely at expanding the range of the device to industrial uses and for the growing IoT audience.
The Compute Model 3's standard model is priced at $30, and the Compute Model Lite is priced at $25. It has the same processor and RAM as the standard, but brings the SD card interface to the module pin, which allows users to connect it to an eMMc or SD card.
The original Raspberry Pi's price was reduced to $25 when the Compute Model 3 launched.
There has been demand in certain industries for a low-cost open source computer that provides robust capabilities for manufacturing and technical demands.
"We don't see much mainstream enterprise demand for this type of compute model," said Jay Lyman, principal analyst at 451 Research, following the Compute Model 3's release last week.
However, he told LinuxInsider, "we do think it is an attractive model for researchers and other HPC end users that are able to assemble and manage powerful compute capabilities for much less money and resources than is typically associated with supercomputing."

 

China Aims to Wash VPNs Out of Its Hair

China this week announced new measures to further restrict its citizens' access to the Internet.

The 14-month campaign appears designed to crack down on the use of Web platforms and services unapproved by the government, and on virtual private networks, which can used to access those platforms and services covertly.
While China's Internet network access services market is facing many development opportunities, there are signs of "disorderly development" that show the urgent need for regulation, the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explained in a notice posted to a government website.
The coming "clean-up" of China's network access services will standardize the market, strengthen network information security management, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the country's Internet industry, the ministry noted.
In order to operate legally, Internet service providers, VPN providers, data centers and content delivery networks will have to obtain a license from the government and adhere to strict limitations.

Great Firewall

The clean-up also places severe new restrictions on cross-border business activities. It requires that government approval be obtained to create or lease lines, including VPN channels, to perform cross-border business activities.
Those restrictions essentially will block any Chinese citizen from using a VPN -- basically, hiding their IP address and rerouting their connections to servers outside their country -- in order to access websites the government doesn't want them to see.
China is famous for controlling the information its citizens can see on the Internet with its "Great Firewall," which screens Internet traffic between China and the outside world. Any requests to see information Beijing deems inappropriate are sent to an Internet graveyard.
Among the 171 of the world's top 1,000 websites the Great Firewall blocks are Google, Facebook and Twitter, according to Greatfire.org, a censorship monitoring service. VPNs offer a way to get through the firewall, which is why the government wants to block them.
China also has taken a more proactive approach to dealing with websites that it doesn't like. It crafted a Great Cannon, which it uses to launch DDoS attacks on domains critical of Beijing.

Shaping the Narrative

China's government has attempted to restrict VPN access in the past, particularly at sensitive times, such as when the national Communist party convenes. Such a meeting is scheduled for the end of this year.
The great clean-up may be a departure from the past, however.
"This new directive may be a sign that the restrictions might become more systematic," said Cynthia Wong, senior Internet researcher at Human Rights Watch.
In the past, enforcement of VPN restrictions seemed spotty. Sometimes they worked; sometimes they didn't.
"Part of the problem with censorship in China is it's often opaque," Wong told TechNewsWorld.
"Users are often left wondering why their VPN isn't working. Is it because of technical problems or is it because of the government?" she wondered. "This needs to be viewed as part of a broader crackdown on any kind of independent media by the Chinese government. In recent years, the government has doubled down on efforts to restrict any information that diverges from its official narrative."
VPNs are used for many purposes in China, though -- among them to keep companies' discussions about their intellectual property and market strategies secure.
"I would hope industry pushes back on this, because it will be much more difficult to run innovative businesses in China without full access to information," Wong said. "It's in their interest for this to be a concern for them, and they should be concerned about corporate espionage as well."

Not Good for VPN Sales

Once the great clean-up gets under way, it's going to be difficult to sell VPNs in China.
"What they're saying is they want to listen in on VPN connections," explained Glenn Chagnot, vice president of marketing for Uplevel Systems. "In order to meet that requirement, we'd have to re-architect our product."
That's because with Uplevel's product, the encryption keys reside with the user, so the VPN provider has no way of decrypting the user's traffic.
Uplevel has limited its sales to the United States because selling VPNs internationally can be challenging, Chagnot noted.
"The technical requirements vary from country to country," he told TechNewsWorld. "What works for the U.S. doesn't necessarily work for Europe and doesn't necessarily work for China."
Asked if more and more countries are seeking the power to snoop on VPNs, Chagnot replied, "Absolutely."

 

Customizing a Computer? Here's What You Need

There are plenty of reasons to build a custom computer. While custom computers may initially be more expensive than prepackaged desktops or laptops, they can provide you with nearly endless possibilities, whether you're looking for a top-notch gaming machine, a system for mixing music, or the ideal choice for developing Web applications.

A custom computer is the way to go if you want both performance and flexibility. Upgrading individual parts often is less expensive than buying a new computer, which could save you money in the long run.
Following are the essential parts you'll need.

Processor and Motherboard

The component to start with is the processor, which will dictate your selection of other necessary parts, like the motherboard. UserBenchmark's exhaustive list of user-rated processors is a good resource to help you decide. AMD and Intel are the top manufacturers, but I prefer Intel.
Intel is the industry standard when it comes to processors, so you can't go wrong if that's your choice. Its Core series comes in three families: i3, i5 and i7. The i3 series is good for average computing needs, while the i5 offers a little more horsepower. The i7 series offers you the best performance. For the price, a Core i7-6700k really can't be beat.
After you choose your processor, select a motherboard to go with it. Make sure it is USB 3.1/3.0-capable for optimal speed. One factor to consider is whether you plan on overclocking, which involves running your PC at a speed higher than manufacturer recommendations.

While you can benefit from short-term performance boosts, overclocking may lead to a shorter lifespan for your computer, so you'll need to consider a compatible motherboard if you plan to do it.

Storage and Memory

Next, choose the storage you want to use. HDD drives are the traditional hard drives that most computers have, and they are extremely affordable.

However, SSDs are the choice for sheer performance, and their prices are dropping.
I prefer a hybrid option that includes both. A computer built with its system files on a smaller SSD will boot faster, while a larger and cheaper HDD in the 2-TB range gives plenty of storage.

Decide how much RAM you need. If you plan on running a 32-bit OS, then you only need 3 GB of memory since the OS won't support any more. Most likely, though, you will be using a 64-bit architecture where 4 GB is the minimum.
RAM is a relatively cheap upgrade for the performance you get in return. Choose 8, 12, or 16 GB for a better user experience.
You can also put in a DVD/CD drive, though it is not necessary, thanks to portable storage and cloud-based software.

Video and Audio Cards

If you intend to play video games, create digital graphics or edit video, you should invest in something more advanced than a basic video card.
For enhanced graphics, AMD, ATI or Nvidia cards will do the trick. The AMD Radeon RX 460 is a reasonably affordable option that can also handle the needs of most casual gamers.
The same goes for your audio card: If you are editing audio files, you should always opt for a higher-quality card that's compatible with the peripheral equipment you want to connect.

Case, Power and Cooling

You have to buy a case to hold all of that amazing hardware! There are many types of cases on the market with different features. Many cases have a rudimentary power supply and cooling fans. However, if you are building a high-performance system, they are probably inadequate.
All that performance generates heat. Too much heat will cause your computer to crash and may even damage hardware, so be sure to invest in some quality computer cooling fans.
At a minimum, you will want one attached to your CPU heatsink, one larger fan to exhaust heat from the case -- and if not built in, one to disperse heat from your graphics card.
The more powerful your components, the more power you'll need to run your system properly. You don't want to burn through a cheap power supply and have everything shut down on you.
Plan on at least a 500w power supply, but if you've opted for a bigger processor, graphics card, and the requisite fans, you'll need something with more juice. Your components may come with recommended power allowances. If not, I suggest at least a 750w power supply.
Final Thought: Don't be afraid to invest more money up front, as your custom machine can provide years of use before you'll need to upgrade it again. Good luck with your project -- and most of all, have fun!

 

Trump Clings to Personal Phone Despite Security Risks

President Donald J. Trump has continued to use his personal Android smartphone despite security concerns, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Trump was concerned about losing access to his personal phone even prior to taking his oath of office, the Times reported last fall, citing unnamed aides who told reporters he worried about how isolated he could become in the White House without his phone to keep in touch with friends.
The president told a friend he had given up his phone as security officials urged him to do, the AP reported last week. It was unclear whether he would be using a heavily modified BlackBerry like the phone President Barack Obama carried, however.
Trump nevertheless has continued to use his personal Android to tweet, according to multiple reports.

Mic Hijacking

If the president were to limit his personal phone use to tweeting -- and it's not clear whether he has -- it still could pose a threat to national security.
"Even if he isn't using the device for storing or sending classified information, having the device in the president's presence still raises security concerns," maintained Andrew Blaich, a security researcher at Lookout.
"We have discovered sophisticated spyware that when successfully deployed can remotely access the phone's microphone and camera," he told TechNewsWorld. "Think about the impact an attacker could have if they could access the POTUS phone's microphone during key briefings throughout the day."
Telemetry features, such as GPS tracking, also pose a risk.
"Tracking the physical movement and geographical location of a target is classified information for high-value targets," said Israel Barak, CISO of Cybereason.
"It's also valuable information for an adversary. Using a commercial off-the-shelf smartphone by a high-value target like the U.S. president is an unacceptable risk," he told TechNewsWorld.
"When it comes to a corporate executive, balancing risk with functionality might lean towards using a commercial device," Barak said, "but when it comes to a high-value national target, where the threat actors are sophisticated military-grade adversaries, that's a risk that can't be balanced in favor of a commercial phone."

Safety vs. Convenience

Obama's BlackBerry mobile phone was specially modified to be extra secure, even though BlackBerry devices, in general, are considered more secure than other phones.
That's because BlackBerry isn't just a phone. It's also a network. Traffic from the phone is encrypted and sent to BlackBerry servers operated by the enterprises or government agencies. The traffic also is encrypted when it goes from the server to the Internet.
The tradeoff for all that security, though, is performance.
"The reason that BlackBerry isn't as popular as it used to be is all that encryption slows things down," explained Slawek Ligier, vice president of engineering for security at Barracuda Networks.
"Using a browser on a BlackBerry device has always been painfully slow," he told TechNewsWorld.
The good news for the president, though, is that text-only tasks, such as tweeting, don't take much of a performance hit.

Resistant to Change

When it comes to their phones, many consumers resist change, and it appears presidents aren't any different.
"Where Trump is concerned, usually the most banal explanation is the correct one -- he's used to it, it seems convenient, and he's stubbornly digging in his heels against the advisors explaining it's a bad idea," said Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
"He's also clearly not terribly technically sophisticated, and so probably doesn't grasp how risky it is," he told TechNewsWorld.
If the president insists on using an insecure phone, can anyone stop him from doing so?
"Federal laws and regulations prohibit the communications of classified information," observed Michael Harris, chief marketing officer for Guidance Software.
"Even the president of the U.S. is required to comply," he told TechNewsWorld, "but enforcing laws on the president is in the hands of the U.S. Congress."

Apple Formally Joins High-Powered AI Partnership

Apple Formally Joins High-Powered AI Partnership

The Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society on Friday announced that Apple, well known for its culture of secrecy, has joined the organization as a founding member.

The other founding members are Amazon, Facebook, Google/Deep Mind, IBM and Microsoft.
The group also announced the final composition of its inaugural board of trustees, naming six new independent members: Dario Amodel of Open AI, Subbarao Kambhampati of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Deirdre Mulligan of UC Berkeley, Carol Rose of the American Civil Liberties Union, Eric Sears of the MacArthur Foundation, and Jason Furman of the Peterson Institute of International Economics.
They will join Greg Corrado of Google/DeepMind, Tom Gruber of Apple, Ralf Herbrich of Amazon, Eric Horvitz of Microsoft, Yann Lecun of Facebook, and Francesca Rossi of IBM.

Gradual Buildout

The group plans to announce additional details sometime after the board's Feb. 3 meeting in San Francisco, including how other organizations and individuals can join. It also will address initial research programs and activities.
The board will oversee general activities of the Partnership on AI, and an executive steering committee will commission and evaluate activities within the overall objectives and scope set up by the board of trustees. The board will appoint an executive director, who will oversee day-to-day operations.
The Partnership on AI, announced last fall, aims to advance public understanding of artificial intelligence and formulate best practices. It plans to conduct publish research under an open license on areas such as ethics, privacy, fairness, inclusivity, transparency and privacy.

Closely Held

The announcement of Apple's participation is particularly significant in light of the company's well-earned reputation for organizational secrecy. There recently have been signs of blowback against that corporate culture, both inside and outside of the organization.
Apple last fall hired Carnegie Mellon's Russ Salakhutdinov as its first director of AI research, and he soon announced a policy change that would allow the company's AI researchers to begin publishing the results of their work, a practice that previously had been out of bounds for Apple employees.
As for why Apple decided to join the partnership now, "Apple does things if and when it wants to, on its own timeline," observed Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.
"The company may also have wanted to see how the group's members were organizing themselves, whether they were serious, and how sustainable the effort appeared" before it took that step, he told TechNewsWorld.

Common Interests

Tom Gruber and others at Apple have been working behind the scenes, "communicating and collaborating" with members of the board since before it launched last fall, said company rep Jenny Murphy.
"Apple provided input into the organization's [memorandum of understanding] and the organization's tenets," she told TechNewsWorld. "Apple wasn't able to formalize its membership in time for the September announcement, but is thrilled now to be officially joining PAI as a founding member."
It makes sense that Apple would join, as the partnership is about communicating AI to consumers and policymakers, noted Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
"Apple has been very secretive about their AI efforts until quite recently," he told TechNewsWorld, "so this is another indication that Apple is trying to cooperate with the rest of the industry in presenting a common front regarding the promise of AI for non-technologists."